USFS tiptoes back into the night flying business

(Originally published June 4, 2013; revised June 5 to add more details about the staffing of the helicopter and the status of the ownership of the air attack ship.)

The U.S. Forest Service has not had a helicopter with night flying capabilities since around 1980 — until recently. Now there is a night flying ship based on the Angeles National Forest in southern California, designated Helicopter 531.

File photo, Aero Commander 690A

Three to four night flying helicopters from Los Angeles County and Los Angeles City have been used for the last four nights on the Powerhouse Fire north of Los Angeles. They were coordinated by personnel in another new addition to the USFS’s fleet, a fixed wing air attack ship orbiting overhead in the darkness. It is a Turbo Commander 690, much like the one in the photo. The air attack ship is not USFS owned as reported by the agency, but it is leased on a call when needed contract. It is equipped with technology to support ground and air firefighting operations at night, including an infrared camera and command and control avionics equipment.

The long term goal of the USFS is to retrofit an old agency-owned piston engine Shrike 500 Commander to take the place of the contractor supplied aircraft.

A “Helicopter Express” Bell 205A++

Helicopter 531 is a Bell Super 205 equipped with a belly tank and snorkel, supplied under a contract with Helicopter Express of Atlanta, Georgia. The company’s web site says they operate 22 helicopters. During the day to fill its tank it will typically draft water from a water source while hovering. But at night, for safety purposes, it will only refill by landing and filling from a hose staffed by firefighters.

Yes, according to information we received from U.S. Forest Service spokesperson Stanton Florea and someone else closely associated with the operation, the helicopter will be staffed 24 hours a day, using five personnel on each 12-hour shift, changing at 0600 and 1800. There are four 5-person shifts of firefighters, A, B, C, and D, in order to have coverage on days off — a total of 20 firefighters for the helicopter operation, plus pilots.

The helicopter will be flown by one pilot during the day, but will add a co-pilot at night. It will respond to fires with a Captain and two other helitack crewpersons on board while two more travel by ground vehicle.

The helicopter and the air attack ship will work out of Fox Field in Lancaster, California. They can be used on initial attack during the day and night in the southern part of the Los Padres National Forest, and all of the Angeles, San Bernardino, and Cleveland National Forests.

In a news release, U.S. Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell was quoted as saying:

The re-introduction of Forest Service night helicopter firefighting operations in Southern California further establishes the agency’s commitment to protect lives and property in the region. Night flying operations will provide an aggressive agency initial attack while better ensuring public safety, minimizing overall fire costs and lessening impacts to communities.

Both the Turbo Commander and Helicopter 531 began their contract June 1. While the fixed wing has been in use since then, the helicopter and pilots have been going through training and obtaining certifications and the module is expected to be available at the end of the day on June 5.

After the Station fire several politicians became involved in the controversy and pressured the USFS to restore the capability to use helicopters at night to drop water. The agency later said they would study the concept, again, and three years after the disastrous fire they announced on August 16, 2012 that they would get back into night flying on a very limited basis with a single helicopter in 2013.

The southern California FIRESCOPE organization and the national forests in the area have established guidelines and procedures for the program. Here is a link to a FIRESCOPE document written in 2007. And below are more recent guidelines from the San Bernardino National Forest. Following the San Bernardino document, there are some excerpts from the FIRESCOPE procedures.

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“San Bernardino National Forest, Night Aerial Firefighting Guidelines

A night capable ATGS and a water dropping helicopter are or may be available for night operations on the BDF.

Operational Time Period is defined as Civil Twilight (30 minutes after sunset and 30 minutes before sunrise)

Engagement Criteria

One of the following engagement criteria must be met before night helicopter water dropping missions can be performed.

Lives are or will be threatened

Structures are or will be threatened

Resources of significant economic value are, or will be threatened

Excessively high suppression cost will be prevented

Night Initial Attack Response

ATGS and night flying helicopter will be on all BDF run cards for automatic nighttime response.

When a night flying aircraft (fixed wing or helicopter) has been sent as an automatic response at night: FICC will notify the Forest Duty Officer.

D. Agencies that cover large geographic areas may want their Pilots to perform a detailed daylight recognizance of the operational area prior to night operations. This would by default preclude most initial attack due to travel times.

E. Another consideration is not to fly at night at all because values threatened do not justify the risk of night flying. The aviation risk assessment and risk management will cover this issue in detail with Section E.

8 thoughts on “USFS tiptoes back into the night flying business”

As I said in my email to you Bill.. the current Night Flying Aerial Supervision (ATGS) platform being used IS a 690 … but it is a contract platform outfitted with IR, color camera’s, recording devices and a up to date avionics package.. And it was evidently sole sourced by the USFS and not let out to bid which is causing some consternation among the atgs contractors.

The plan I heard was to eventually have an FS owned platform with FS pilots fill the slot, but the old Shrike Commander that the FS is planning on using needs to be retrofitted with ALL the high tech requirements, IR, radio’s, etc… And it will not be a turbine if it is an FS platform because the FS does not own a 690 Turbine Commander.

Isn’t this the same outfit that requires turbine twin engine helicopters on medium lift missions?

AND how about that retrofit of a 500 series Aero Commander? Again, an outfit requiring everyone else to have turbine equipment on contract and yet they are going to upgrade a piston aircraft. That ought to be an EXPENSIVE upgrade in all respects.

Not dissing the AC500 or the 205A++. My old man spent years around AC500’s and there is one outfit still flying them out of KC and I personally been around numbers of UH1/Bell 205 series through the US Army and US Army Guard….so I DO KNOW what they are capable of.

But the USFS sole sourcing and then outfitting 30+ yr old aircraft….wellllll good luck with that project…..sounds like a DEA aircraft gone awry like the Cessna Citation the State of MN bought 10+ yrs ago and the retrofit was more than the base value of the aircraft.

Like the Beechcraft Baron project………the USFS just does not know when to quit or just get a professional opinion other than in house.

Bell 205, 4000 lbs MAX lift, probably 3000 usfs hoge. Fuel, 1400 lbs, Tank 900 lbs, Pilot and copilot 420 lbs, Captain and two Helitack 660 lbs = 3380 lbs. Where is the lifting capability to actually bring ANY water? Half the production rate of a day ship? Probably more like 1/10. The money could be better spent on a second 205 (or third or fourth) bucket ship during the day.

Nothing against the ATGS or air attack program or requiring vendors to have turbine equipment. But what is good for the goose is good for the gander. That would mean the USFS itself, retrofitting a PISTON aircraft, and requiring turbine equipment in the other firefighting arenas…….and not having turbine equipment for the USFS, during its intents to replace contractors, sure flies in the face of all those safety requirements and “Core Values” that the USFS like to brag about

A full “Glass Cockpit” will run a minimum of $75k or more, if dual “any things” are required. That airframe has some serious gig’s on it’s spar if I remember right, and the fuel cells are a disaster. The addition of IR, color camera, and multi radios is going to require a field eng sign-off or an STC if one exists. Those items should add another $250k or so to the tab…and, I would almost guess that the engines will need a Fac reman or at least a Top O/H…so figure on another $25 to 50k for them.. That airframe is only worth maybe $200k max, and that is only IF it has low time, say under 2,000 hr TT and fresh engines!. This looks like a money pit, maybe even a black hole! (BTW: where do you “find” an AC 690 with IR/Color and fancy radios anyway?.. sounds like some DEA/HSA favored vendor from “south of the border”… Something to remember…you can be flying the bird in the dark and staring at some FLIR scope before you find some rock in your face!..that lead/AA needs to be a 2 or even 3 man flight crew minimum, with 4 hr on and off cycles!) Good luck…maybe someone ought to ask LA County how they do it, eh?… or, 160th avn bn…they own the night.